Furnace-door-operating mechanism.



v O O FlG-2" S. D. ROSENFBLT & H. HELMHOLTZ.

FURNACE DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20, 1912.

1,031,379. Patented July 2,1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITN

S. D. ROSENFELT & H. HELMHOLTZ.

FURNACE DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20, 1912.

Patented July 2, 1912.

2 SHEETS-11331 2.

//l all SAMUEL D. ROSENFELT AND HENRY HELMHOLTZ, OF CHIGAGO, ILLINOIS.

FURNACE-DOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2, 1912.

Application filed March 20, 1912. Serial No. 684,979.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, SAMUEL D. ROSEN- FELT and HENRY HELMHOLTZ, both of Chicago, in the county .ofCook and State of Illinois, have jointly invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Furnace-Door- Operating Mechanism, of which improvement the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to power actuated mechanism for opening and closing. the fire doors of furnaces, more particularly those of locomotive boilers, and is an improvement upon that for which Letters Patent of the Unlted States No. 966,601 were granted and issued to us under date of August 9, 1910.

The object of our present invention is to provide a mechanism of the type set forth in said Letters Patent, in which equally advantageous operative results shall be obtained, with the further advantage of a material simplification of structure and a more compact disposition of the working parts.

The improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a view, in elevatlon, of the upper portion of a locomotive boiler head, illustrating an application of our invention, with the fire doors shown as closed; Fig. 2, a similar view, showing the fire doors open; Fig. 3,

a longitudinal central section through the motor cylinder; Fi 4:, a vertical section through the rear wa l of the firebox, on the line a a of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5, a similar section, taken through the pivot of the hand operating lever.

Our invention isherein exemplified as applied in connection with the firebox, 1, of a locomotive boiler, for the operation of a pair of fire doors, 2, 2, controlling a firing opening, 1*, in the rear wall of the firebox. The operating mechanism is mounted and supported on an annular casing, 3, secured to the firebox, around the firing opening thereof, and having a shovel plate, 4, fixed to its lower side and projecting into the firing opening as in ordinary practice. The fire doors, 2, 2, which are substantially semicircular in form, are fitted to swing from and toward one another, in a vertical plane, on horizontal pivots, 5, fixed in a support, 3*, formed on the upper side of the casing, 3, and are provided with inter-meshing segthe middle vertical plane thereof, and is secured by bolts, 7, passing through lugs, 6,

adjacent to its ends, to standards, 3, extending u wardly from the support, 3, on the top 0 the door opening casing, 3. The cylinder, 6, is fitted with a properly packed piston, 6, secured u on a iston rod, 6, upon the outer end 0 which is fixed a cross head, 6, fitted to traverse on a guide, 6, projecting from the end of the cylinder nearer the fire doors. The lower end of the cross head, 6, is coupled, by a link, 6, to an arm, 2", extending upwardl from one of the fire doors, 2, above the plvot, 5, thereof, by means of which operative connection and of the gears, 2, of the doors, the latter will be coincidently opened, by being swung outwardly upon their pivots, by the movement of the cross head to the right, and closed upon the movement of the cross head in the opposite direction, their full 0 en and closed positions being indicated in *igs. 2 and 1, respectively.

The movements of the iston, 6, are effected by the action of fluid under ressure, preferably compressed air, the a mission and exhaust of which to and from the end ofthe cylinder, 6, farther from the crosshead, are governed by a controlling valve, 8, workin in a case or chest, 6, formed upon or xed to, a head, 6, attached removably to, and closing the cylinder, 6, at the end thereof farther from the cross head. The controlling valve, 8, which is of the piston type, extends outwardly through the lower end of the valve case, 6, and,makes contact with the upper end of an o erating rod, 9, which is fitted to move vertically in guides, 9, fixed to the casing, 3, of the door opening, and is maintained in contact therewith, and normally held in the position shown in Fig. 3, in which the cylinder is open to the atmosphere, by a helical spring, 10, hearing, at its opposite ends, on the upper end of the controlling valve and on an adjustable cap, 6 screwed into and closing the upper end of the valve case, 6. A foot lever or treadle, 11, is pivoted to the lower .pressure supply pipe, 8

guide, 9 of the operating rod, 9, the shorter arm of said treadle abutting against the lower end of the operating rod, and the longer arm projecting outwardly above the foot plate or deck of thelocomotive, within convenient reach of the foot of the fireman.

A longitudinal passage, 8 is formed in the controlling valve, 8, said passage 'communicating, by upper and lower end ports, 8", 8 and an intermediate port, 8, with peripheral grooves or channels in the valve. A port, 6 formed in the cylinder head, 6, establishes communication between the adjoining end of the cylinder and either the lower port, 8, or the intermediate port, 8 accordingly as the controlling valve may be moved into one or another position. A fluid leads from any suitable source of fluid pressure into the upper portion of the valve case, and an exhaust port, 8, 'of small diameter relatively to the supply pipe, is formed in a plug, 8 screwed into the valve case below the supply pipe. By forming the exhaust port in a removable plug, the capacit of the port may be restricted or increase as the requirements of service may indicate to be necessaryor desirable.

The moving parts of the appliance stand normally in the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 3, in which the fire doors are closed, and the left hand of the cylinder, 6, is open to the atmosphere through the ports, 6, and 8 the passage, 8*, and the exhaust port, 8. The right hand of the cylinder is also open to the atmosphere, through a port, 6, which serves the additional purpose of enabling lubricating material to be supplied to the cylinder, as from time to time required. When it is desired to actuate the controlling valve, in order to effect the opening of the doors by fluid pressure, the fireman places his foot on the treadle, 11, depressing its longer outer arm and raising the operating rod, 9, by the upward movement of its inner shorter arm. The upward movement of the operating rod raises the controlling valve, 8, against the resistance of the spring, 10, until the lower end port, 8, of the valve, registers with the cylinder head port, 6', and the upper port, 8", registers with the opening of the supply pipe, 8. Fluid under pressure then passes. through said ports, and through the communicating longitudinal passage, 8, of the controlling valve, into the cylinder, 6, moving the piston to the right and coincidently moving the connected fire doors to the open position shown in Fig. 2.

' When the fireman desires to close the doors, he releases the pressure of his foot from the treadle, 11, whereupon the spring, 10, returns the controlling valve to the position shown in Fig. 3, in which, as before explained, the left hand end of the cylinder is open to the atmosphere and the motive fluid is thereby exhausted therefrom. The fire doors, 2, then drop, by their own gravity, into the closed position shown in Fig. 1, and their slamming or closure with undue force is prevented by the comparatively slow discharge of fluid from the cylinder through the restricted exhaust port.

In the event of a failure of fluid pressure supply, derangement of the'fluid pressure operating mechanism, or if for any other reason desired, the fire doors may be manually operated by means of a hand lever, 12, which is journaled on the pivot, 5, of one of the doors, and projects upwardly therefrom when the doors are closed, the lower and shorter arm of said" lever abutting against a projection, 2,-on the outer side of the adjacent door. The lever, 12, is fitted on: the pivot between a key or split pin, 12, passing through the pivot atthe outer side of the door, and a helical spring, 12 coiled on the pivot on the outer side of the lever, and held in position by a key or split pin, 12, jarring or rattling of the hand lever being thereby prevented. By downward movement of the hand lever from the position shown in Fig. 1, the doors may be opened, and upon upward movement of the lever, they will be released and permitted to close. the doors are actuated by fluid pressure, and is held normally in its uppermost position, shown in Fig. 1, by an upper stop, 13 formed on or fixed to an inclined bar or strap, 13, the face of which adjoins the plane of movement of the lever, 12, said bar being secured, at its upper end, to one of the standards, 3", of the casing of the door opening, and, at its lower end, to the door pivot opposite that on which the hand lever is journaled.

When the hand lever is desired to be operated, it is sprung outwardly over the upper stop, 13, and moved downwardly as above described, and when it is desired to hold the doors in full open position, the

hand lever is engaged with a lower stop, 13, on the bar, 13, as shown in Fig. 2. The

lower stop, 13*, is so located that when the hand lever is engaged with it, the doors,

with their connection to the cross head of the motor, will be on the dead center line, thereby preventing risk of release by accidental air admission, and obviating the necessity of shutting oil the air from the cylinder. The doors may be held partially open by engaging the hand lever with the The hand lever is not moved when lower side of the upper stop, 13, and the sudden and forcible engagement of the hand lever therewith is prevented by a curved projectlon, 13,--on the face of the bar, 13, below the upper stop, which deflects the hand lever in its upward traverse before reaching the upper stop.

Various structural modifications of the preferred form of our invention which is herein shown and described may be made by those skilled in the art to which it relates, without departure from its spirit and operative principle, and we do not therefore desire to limit ourselves to the specific structural embodiment set forth herein, as excluding modifications of structure and detail which do not involve differences of operative principle from the subject matter claimed.

We claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination, with a furnace, of fire doors pivoted at their upper extremities to swing Vertically, intermeshing gears on said doors concentric with their pivots, a fluid pressure cylinder, a piston and rod working therein, means for the admission and exhaust of fluid to and from said cylinder, an operative connection coupling the piston rod with one of the fire doors for coincidently operating them, a manually operative lever journaled on the pivot of one of the fire doors, and a projection on said door position to be engaged by said lever to impart opening movement to the doors.

2.'The combination, with a furnace, of fire doors pivoted at their upper extremities to swing vertically, intermeshing gears on said doors concentric with their pivots, a fluid pressure cylinder, a piston and rod working therein, means for the admission and exhaust of liquid to and from said cylinder, an operative connection coupling the piston rod with one of the fire doors for coincidently operating them, a manually operative lever journaled on the pivot of one of the fire doors, a stop adapted to maintain said lever in inoperative position, and a projection on the door whose pivot carries said lever, in position to be engaged by said lever to impart opening movement to the doors.

3. The combination, with a furnace, of fire doors pivoted at their upper extremities to swing vertically, intermeshing gears on said doors concentric with their pivots, a fluid pressure cylinder, a piston and rod working therein, means for the admission and exhaust of fluid to and from said cylinder, an operative connection coupling the piston rod with one of the fire doors for coincidently operating them, a manually operative lever journaled on the pivot of one of the firedoors, a projection on the door whose pivot carries said lever, in position to be engaged by said lever to impart opening movement to the doors, a stop adapted I to maintainsaid lever in inoperative position when the doors are closed, and a stop adapted to be engaged by said lever when the doors are open and to hold said leve and doors in said position.

, 4. The combination, with a furnace, o'

fire doors pivoted at their upper extremities to swing vertically, inter-meshing gears on said doors concentric with their pivots, a fluid pressure cylinder, a piston and rod working therein, means for the admission and exhaust of fluid to and from said cylinder, an operative connection coupling the piston rod with one of the fire doors for coincidently operating them, a manually operative lever journaled on the pivot of one of the fire doors, a projection on the door whose pivot carries said lever, in position to be engaged by said lever to impart opening movement to the doors, an upper stop, the top of which is adapted to be engaged by said lever for maintaining it in inoperative position when the doors are closed and the lower side of which is adapted to be engaged by said lever to hold the doors partially open, and a lower stop adapted to be engaged by said lever when the doors are fully open and to hold said lever and doors in such position.

5. The combination, with a furnace, of fire doors pivoted at their upper extremities to swing vertically, inter-meshing gears on said doors concentric with their pivots,

a fluid pressure cylinder, a piston and rod working therein, means for the admission and exhaust of fluid to and from said cylinder, an operative connection coupling the piston rod with one of the [ire doors for coincidently operating them,a manually operative lever journaled on the pivot of one of the fire doors, aprojection on the door whose pivot carries said lever, in position to be engaged by said lever to impart opening movement to the doors, an upper stop adapted to be engaged by said lever for maintaining it in inoperative position when the doors are closed, anda curved projection below said upper stop for deflecting said lever in its upward traverse and pre venting its sudden and forcible engagement with the upper stop.

6. The combination, with a furnace, of an annular casing surrounding a firing opening in the furnace, a pair of fire doors each pivoted near its top to the casing to swing in a vertical plane thereon, intermeshing gears on the doors concentric with their pivots, a fluid pressure cylinder supported above the fire doors, on standards projecting upwardly from the casing, with its axis in substantially the'middle vertical plane of the fire doors, a piston and rod working in said cylinder, means for the admission and exhaust of fluid to and from said cylinder, comprising a manually operable controlling valve working in a chest adjoining one end of said cylinder, a link coupling the piston rod to an arm on one of the fire doors, a hand lever j ournaledon the pivot of one of the fir'e doors and projecting above the cylinder when the doors are closed, a projection on the door Whose pivot carries said lever when the doors are closed and are hand lever, in position to be engaged by said open, respectively.

lever to impart opening movement to the doors, an inclined strap fixed to one of the standards of the cylinder and to the pivot of the door opposite that Which'carries the hand Witnesses: lever, and upper and lower stops on said M; T. HAGKLEY, strap, in position to be engaged by the hand DAVID BENZULY. 

